The hard rock community has a long history of elitist attitudes, misogyny, homophobia, substance abuse, and many other forms of toxic masculinity. Midnight Notion seeks to capture the positive musical energy of hard rock stadium shows while rejecting all the oppressive and destructive behaviors that typically surround the genre.
Front man, Bryce Kalal, grew up in a fractured family. While his single mother worked to pay the bills, Bryce often found himself home alone with nothing but his imagination to keep him company. Through step-families, divorces, deaths, and moves across the country, he held onto sanity by turning his traumas into drawings, stories, home movies, and eventually music.
This tumultuous history led to an early social-emotional awareness. He vowed to stay sober, keep kind, and follow his rock ‘n roll dreams without falling into the same bad habits of the bands who came before.
Musical Beginnings
While he spent four years behind a French Horn in band classes, and dabbled on a keyboard in his free time, Bryce’s music career officially began as a drummer when he formed his first band, Silver Infection, in February 2002. They spent the next two years covering Blink-182, Green Day, and Metallica songs in the basement, while simultaneously learning how to write their own music along the way.
In 2004, Bryce switched to guitar and lead vocals for a new band, Rascality. Not only did this mark the first time he performed live in front of a paying audience, but it was also his first band to release a demo together, A Day at the Fair.
In 2005, he went back to the drums to join an already established band, Discombobulated, where he learned to perfect his showmanship. They performed multiple times per month, and amassed a sizable following in the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities.
College & The Solo Project
Bryce attended the now-defunct Institute of Production and Recording (IPR) in Minneapolis from 2005–2007, where he obtained an AAS in Audio Production and Engineering, and received a Music Operator certification in Pro Tools. While studying, he had nearly unlimited access to world class recording equipment, and frequently used it to record himself. He made three separate attempts at recording what would eventually become Somewhere in Dreamworld, but failed to complete the project because of indecisiveness and perfectionism.
During this time period, he experimented with several different names for his new solo project, including:
- OMD Man (Obsessive Music Dependency)
- OFM (Obsession For Music)
- and Airport Weather
He performed acoustic shows as Airport Weather while building a home recording studio and expanding his catalogue of originals.
The Archives & March to Midnight
On September 7, 2008, Bryce announced the name change from Airport Weather to Midnight Notion, a fancy synonym for “Dream.” Later that year, he released his first solo record, The Archives: 1–10, a project demo featuring reimagined versions of his first ten songs.
His solo project took some time off in the early 2010s as he switched to bass guitar for a band called The Crucial Step. They released an EP together and made an attempt at a self-produced full-length record, but eventually parted ways on peaceful terms.
Midnight Notion returned with March to Midnight, which not only got played on the radio, but was also Bryce’s first record to get physical CDs printed and sold. He produced YouTube videos more frequently, experimented with podcasting, and started performing live shows again—this time with backing tracks instead of a backing band.
Somewhere in Dreamworld & Full Band
Frustrated by his inability to complete his college dream project, Bryce found motivation in paying big money for someone else to do it for him. He partnered with one of his local inspirations, Wally Joseph of the band Skywind, to finally record and release Somewhere in Dreamworld.
In the Late Fall of 2018, with the finished record on its way, Midnight Notion transitioned from solo act to a full band. They played frequently around the Twin Cities throughout 2019, and their album release show had over 100 in attendance! The band became known for leading full-room sing-alongs, and their unique choices of cover songs.
The COVID-19 PANDEMIC & YouTube
During lockdown, the band made a series of remote cover song music videos together. They became Quarter-finalists in the Audacy Opening Act Competition (2021), and Bryce began the popular YouTube series The Rocker Review. Midnight Notion returned to the stage briefly in 2021 and 2022, but the weight of organizing events for dwindling audiences caused Bryce to rethink his priorities. Midnight Notion’s audience wasn’t in Minneapolis nightclubs, it was online.
In the Spring of 2022, Midnight Notion transitioned from a full band back to being a solo act, this time prioritizing YouTube content.
Without having to worry about booking or promoting shows, and without having to organize band member schedules, Midnight Notion is now able to make music and videos whenever inspiration strikes. His goal is to share his love of music, to provide insight into every gritty behind-the-scenes moment of being in a band, and to promote hard rock as a healthy alternative to substance abuse and physical violence.
If even one person draws inspiration to make their own nontoxic riff-rock, because of Bryce’s story and songs, Midnight Notion’s dream will have become reality.